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On a recent trip to the Peruvian Amazon, I was able to visit with a good friend and tropical fish exporter, Martin Mortenthaler. Freshwater fish biodiversity in the upper Amazon basin is astounding. This is just a fraction of what can be found there but I really enjoyed seeing all of the fish. I’d like to thank Bill Lamar, who hosted me while visiting Iquitos.
Freshwater Barracuda (Acestrorhynchus sp) known locally as "Pez Perro" or "Pez Cachorro"
Freshwater Barracuda (Acestrorhynchus sp)
Apistogramma agassizii "blue"
Apistogramma agassizii "blue"
Apistogramma bitaeniata "red"
Apistogramma bitaeniata "red"
Apistogramma bitaeniata "yellow"
Apistogramma pandurini
Apistogramma pandurini
Banjo Catfish (Dysichthys amazonicus)
Brachyplatystoma juruense
Brachyplatystoma juruense
Brachyplatystoma juruense
Banded Goliath Catfish (Brachyplatystoma tigrinum)
Banded Goliath Catfish (Brachyplatystoma tigrinum)
Banded Goliath Catfish (Brachyplatystoma tigrinum)
Driftwood Catfish (Tetranematichthys quadrifilis)
The descriptive term "haematophagous" refers to blood feeding. Most often, animals associated with the lifestyle are things like female mosquitoes and leeches. However, there are other examples. It appears that most Candiru feed on the gills of larger fish or more accurately, the fluid that flows through the gill tissue, blood. Stories of the fish swimming up the urethra of unwitting humans bathing in South American Rivers abound. In fact, there is only a single documented case involving a Brazilian man. This Candiru (Plectrochilus {Vandellia} cf erythrurus) is one of the more common species in the Amazon. If interested in Candiru, a "must read" is Stephen Spotte's book on these fish: Spotte, S. 2002. Candiru, Life and Legend of the Bloodsucking Catfishes. Creative Arts Book Company, Berkeley, CA.
Candiru (Plectrochilus {Vandellia} cf erythrurus)
Candiru (Plectrochilus {Vandellia} cf erythrurus)
Cetopsis sp
Corydoras acutus
Corydoras atropersonatus
Corydoras leopardus
Family Loricariidae (cf Spatuloricaria sp)
Family Loricariidae
Family Loricariidae (Pseudohemiodon apithanos)
Zebra Otocinclus
No, this is not a mutant trout...it's locally called a Fasaco Pintado (Erythrinus erythrinus)
Flame Blue Tetra
Marble Hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata)
Juvenile Red Hook myleus (Myleus rubripinnis)
Myleus sp "Green"
Piranha (Pygocentrus cf diamante)
Piranha (Pygocentrus cf diamante)
Piranha (Pygocentrus cf elongatus)
Piranha (Pygocentrus cf niger, Juvenile)
Piranha (Pygocentrus cf niger, Juvenile)
Piranha (Pygocentrus sp)
Piranha (Pygocentrus sp)
Piranha (Pygocentrus sp "Rio Napo")
Piranha (Pygocentrus sp "Rio Napo")
Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciata)
Red Pencil Fish (Nannostomus mortenthaleri)
Knife Fish (Porotergus nattereri) known locally as "vampiro"
Knife Fish (Porotergus nattereri) known locally as "vampiro"
Duck Billed Knife Fish (Compsaraia samueli). This species just recently got a formal scientific name: Albert, J.S. and W.G.R. Crampton. 2009. A new species of electric knife fish, genus Compsaraia (Gymnoformes: Apteronotidae) from the Amazon River, with extreme sexual dimorphism in snout and jaw length. Systematics and Biodiversity 7(1): 81-92.
Monster Fish (Thalassophryne amazonica) have hollow toxin filled dorsal spines.
Monster Fish (Thalassophryne amazonica)
Animals that live in the sand are referred to as "psammophilic" or sand loving. Freshwater flounders are often found on sand and silt flats where they can bury down with very little of their bodies exposed. Often only their eyes are visible. They sit and wait for small invertebrates to come too close. This is an Amazonian Fresh Water Flounder (Family Achiridae)
Fresh Water Flounder (Family Achiridae)
Fresh Water Flounder (Family Achiridae)
Leaf Fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus)
Leaf Fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus)
Leaf Fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus)
Another group of psammophilic fish are the Freshwater Stingrays. This stingray (Potamotrygon motoro) is one of the species often exported for the aquarium trade.
Freshwater Stingray (Potamotrygon castexi)
Freshwater Stingray (Potamotrygon sp)
Glass Shrimp (cf Palaemonetes species (perhaps P. ivonicus))> It may also have a parasitic bopyrid isopod. I'd like to thank Alexander Kim of Harvard for help with the IDs.
May 20th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Hello.
The glass shrimp seems to be a Palaemonetes (perhaps P. ivonicus) bearing a parasitic bopyrid isopod in its gill chamber.
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:04 am
Thank you kindly for the potential ID and the comment on the parasitic isopod!
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Awesome pics. i went to Peru a couple of year ago and did the whole peru tours thing..machu pichu, cusco, nazca lines, lake titicaca and of course iquitos and tambopata national reserve..i took some eco friendly tours and saw a bunch of birds and some rare fish but not as many as you have in your page.. nice post.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:57 pm
I am just catching up on your blog entires after my trip to the Galapagos. These shots are beautiful and remind me of my youth when all I could do was read every Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine I could get my hands on so i could see the latest SA tropical fishes! These are just wonderful Dante!
June 25th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Gostei muito!!!!!!!!!!